Mississippi State will begin spring practice on Thursday afternoon and Dan Mullen is primed and ready.

Entering his fourth spring as head coach of the Bulldogs, Mullen will once again use the spring as an opportunity for more in-depth teaching.

"In spring you really have the ability to take time to teach the offense, defense and special teams," Mullen said. "We'll try to practice a day then meet the next day so that you can not only practice it but review it the next day to take your time to teach. It gives the guys an opportunity to really let it sink in over a longer period of time whereas in the fall you have to teach it, practice it and move on."

MSU enters spring practice with only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster in rising junior Tyler Russell and redshirt freshman Dak Prescott. Signee Nick Schuessler is set to join the team in the fall but for now Russell and Prescott will split the reps in the spring.

"We've just got to do a good job balancing their arms and how much they are throwing," Mullen said. "I've gone through a bunch of springs with just two quarterbacks and as a coach you have to make sure you don't overdo it with one."

Russell injured his knee late in the season and is still on the road to recovery but is expected to go through spring drills. He played in nine games last season drawing four starts behind center completing 69-of-129 passing for 1,034 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.